HP dm4-1160us Using optical discs CDs, DVDs, and BDs, Selecting the right disc CDs, DVDs, and BDs

Using optical discs (CDs, DVDs, and BDs)

An optical drive, such as a DVD-ROM drive, supports optical discs (CDs and DVDs). These discs store information, such as music, photos, and movies. DVDs have a higher storage capacity than CDs.

Your optical drive can read standard CD and DVD discs. If your optical drive is a Blu-ray Disc (BD) drive, it can also read BDs.

NOTE: Some of the optical drives listed may not be supported by your computer. The listed drives are not necessarily all of the supported optical drives.

Some optical drives can also write to optical discs, as described in the following table.

Optical drive type	Write to CD-	Write to	Write to DVD±R DL	Write label to	Write to BD R/RE
	RW	DVD±RW/		LightScribe CD or
		R		DVD ±RW/R
DVD-ROM Drive	No	No	No	No	No
DVD±R SuperMulti DL	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
LightScribe Drive*†
Blu-ray ROM DVD±R	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
SuperMulti DL Drive*
Blu-ray R/RE DVD+/-	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
RW SuperMulti DL
Drive*

*Double-layer discs can store more data than single-layer discs. However, double-layer discs burned with this drive may not be compatible with many single-layer DVD drivers and players.

†LightScribe discs must be purchased separately. LightScribe creates a grayscale image similar to black-and-white photography.

CAUTION: To prevent possible audio and video degradation, loss of information, or loss of audio or video playback functionality, do not initiate Sleep or Hibernation while reading a CD, DVD, or BD, or writing to a CD or DVD.

Selecting the right disc (CDs, DVDs, and BDs)

An optical drive supports optical discs (CDs, DVDs, and BDs). CDs, used to store digital data, are also used for commercial audio recordings and are convenient for your personal storage needs. DVDs and BDs are used primarily for movies, software, and data backup purposes. DVDs and BDs are the same form factor as CDs, but have a much higher storage capacity.

NOTE: The optical drive on your computer may not support all the types of optical discs discussed in this section.

CD-R discs

Use CD-R (write-once) discs to create permanent archives and to share files with virtually anyone. Typical uses include the following:

●Distributing large presentations

●Sharing scanned and digital photos, video clips, and written data

●Making your own music CDs

Optical drive 39